198 A Tale of Indian Heroes
love with Rama, and offered to be his wife. She was ugly as sin, and he, jeeringly said :
" Gentle one, I am already married! But this younger brother of mine is unwed. Ask him ! "
So the Rakshsi, seeing Laksmana was also beautiful to behold, asked him to take her as wife; and he, also with a smile, replied :
" O supremely charming lady, I am but slave to my brother. He is the man for you ! "
Bandied thus from one to the other, the Rakshsi lost her temper and crying aloud : c< To-day, you both looking on, I will eat up this unsightly, lean, human female ! " rushed on Sita.
This was too much, and Laksmana, drawing his sword, cut off Surpanakha's nose and ears. She bled profusely, and howling with rage fled to her brother the Chief-of-the-Giants. Thus war began. Now these terrible monsters had the power of changing their forms at will; but neither this nor their numbers availed against the valour of R£ma, who, single-handed—for he sent Sita to an inaccessible cave under the guardianship of Laksmana—killed fourteen thousand in one day. Eventually, after many blood-curdling combats, he slew all but one of the giants.
But, unfortunately, the love-sick SurpanakM had another string to her bow. She was not only sister to the chief of the Jodabari giants, she was also sister to the mighty ten-armed, ten-headed Ravana himself! R£vana, the richest person in the world, brother to the Lord-of-Wealth. Therefore, so soon as SurpanakbA realised that all her champions had been slain, she transported herself to Lanka, where Ravana held his court,